Chicago Bear Prince Amukamara invests in alma mater startup

Nebraska Startup opendorse raised $3.5 million in a Series A financing round led by Serra Ventures, Flyover Capital and a pack of Nebraska football stars including Chicago Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara.

opendorse is an athlete branded-content platform that connects athletes to major brands. opendorse, founded by two college athletes Adi Kunalic and Blake Lawrence, streamlines the marketing process for athletes. Today, opendorse has 2,400 athletes with a combined following over 80 million.

“I’m proud to invest in a company built by my former teammates that understands the challenges and opportunities of athletes like me and keeps the business focused on athletes first,” said Prince Amukamara of the Chicago Bears. “I believed in opendorse when Blake and Adi pitched me my first social media deal in 2012, and I believe in the company’s direction today more than ever. opendorse is like a personal assistant in my pocket, helping me build my social brand while I’m focused on the field.”

“We have a clear, unique, and disruptive path to success for thousands of athletes and hundreds of brands to easily engage sports fans in the social space, and we welcome our new investors who support our mission and share our vision,” said Blake Lawrence, CEO of opendorse. “We know that athletes have incredible power and we’re proud to have built the infrastructure to help foster their impact on social media.”

opendorse was founded in Nebraska but has an office in both New York City and Chicago.